6 Nuclear Power Startups To Watch

President Barack Obama’s $8.3 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants announced earlier this morning is aimed squarely at building more of the massive, gigawatt-sized reactors we’re all familiar with. Big nuclear is also the target for $36 billion in loan guarantees that the Obama Adminsitration has proposed for the Department of Energy’s 2011 budget. Still, that same budget request could represent opportunity for the handful of startups venturing into the world of nuclear power, if they can deliver on promises of small-scale, modular reactors, nuclear technologies that fuel themselves, or the long-awaited working model of a fusion power plant.

Take small-scale nuclear plants, which are the target of some $38.8 million in proposed 2011 DOE spending. These are pretty much limited to aircraft carriers and submarines nowadays, but could represent a way for venture capitalists to get in on the nuclear resurgence without spending the billions required for today’s large-scale plants. While experienced nuclear power contractors such as Toshiba and Babcock & Wilcox are working on small scale reactors — as are government labs such as Sandia National Laboratory — so are startups such as NuScale Power and Hyperion Power Generation.

At the same time, companies are researching ways to utilize new fuels for nuclear power, or, in the case of Bill Gates-backed TerraPower, use the fuel normally relegated to waste in today’s fission reactors. And fusion power is being pursued by a handful of startups alongside the government-funded research going on around the world.

Of course, getting into the nuclear power business isn’t like launching a consumer electronics or networking startup. Anyone seeking to commercialize nuclear power technology will face years of testing and certification by government entities such as the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and that means investors will have to be patient. Still, for those willing to wait, here are some of the more intriguing (and well-funded) opportunities out there in the new world of nuclear startups.

NuScale Power: This Corvalis, Ore.-based startup landed $2.65 million from CMEA Capital in September 2008, with the goal of deploying technology developed by DOE and Oregon State University. It wants to make modular, 45-megawatt reactors that can be linked together to generate power at about the same cost — 6 to 9 cents per kilowatt-hour — as traditional, larger nuclear plants. Beyond saving money by building in pieces, NuScale’s passive water cooling system is safer than traditional reactors, the company claims. The company has plans to submit its design to the NRC in early 2012, which will begin a multi-year approval process that could see reactors available by late in the decade.

The startup also has deep Microsoft roots — it’s a spin-off of Intellectual Ventures, the think tank founded by former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold, and Bill Gates is a principal owner. Those deep-pocket backers could be useful, as TerraPower is looking at about 10 years to demonstrate a working plant, and about 15 years to commercial deployment, according to a presentation from TerraPower President John Gilleland.

The idea is to use hundreds of mechanical pistons to drive a shock wave through a lead-lithium mixture surrounding a plasma of hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium, fusing them into hydrogen. Nuclear experts say it’s technically feasible, but difficult to accomplish. General Fusion has said hopes to demonstrate a working model in 2013.

Helion Energy: Another would-be fusion startup is Seattle-based Helion Energy, which said in April that it’s seeking up to $20 million to build a working model of its engine, intended to electromagnetically propel ionized hydrogen to speeds of millions of miles an hour, generating immense amounts of heat. The company is aiming at a full-scale prototype by 2011 or 2012 and a commercial model within a decade, Helion President Philip Wallace said in April.